Gamification as a method of increasing motivation of law students in learning English language

Emirilyasova Susanna Seitbilyalovna PhD in Pedagogy Docent, the department of Foreign Languages, Crimean Branch of Russian State University of Justice 295006, Russia, respublika Krym, g. Simferopol', ul. Pavlenko, 5 emirilyasova@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Educational system keeps changing much faster than it has in the last fifteen or twenty years. Once papyrus was introduced and it was considered an innovative step in the world of education. It was yesteryear but nowadays the Internet is believed to offer the best opportunities for all kinds of language learning activities. Most students tend to spend most of their time browsing the Internet and they are sure to get addicted to it as it seems to be much quicker, more effective and comfortable. This online tool welcomes everyone creating virtual collaboration with millions of participants all over the world. Undoubtedly, the Internet will change the world and it has already altered everyone who has ever applied at least one of its most widespread tools - social media, for example.

Social media is commonly used by most people across the world, and at the same time it is also considered an irreplaceable tool for educational environment. An international community of experts in educational technology known as the New Media Consortium (NMC) points out that «social media enables two way dialogues between students, prospective students, educators, and the institution that are less formal than with other media. As social networks continue to flourish, educators are using them as professional communities of practice, as learning communities, and as a platform to share interesting stories about topics students are studying in class. Understanding how social media can be leveraged for social learning is a key skill for teachers, and teacher training programs are increasingly being expected to include this skill» ^[5].

When it comes to learning English for law students, in particular, motivation is sure to play a significant role. Undoubtedly, highly self-motivated students succeed in their language achievements. Stimulating learning and motivating good educational behavior can be very challenging. Some teachers have their hands full with class management and they don’t even get to teaching. Moreover, students don’t get motivated with long-term benefits, they’re fond of short-term rewards and accomplishments. According to the papers of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, «learning is an active process and, as with all active processes, it requires motivation to both begin and continue the process. In young learners, motivation to learn is often readily available, but it can wane in older learners, and this is especially the case when an element of self-direction and autonomy is required» ^[10].

So, what teaching tools are required to be used to make students better and encourage them to further drive. One of the most efficient techniques that needs to be taken into account is motivation. But what is motivation? Is it an innate or acquired quality? Nobody knows for sure what motivates human behavior. According to Tranquillo J. and Stecker M. from the Department of Biomedical and Electrical Engineering of Bucknell University, «various kinds of motivation are often regarded as being a) extrinsic and b) intrinsic. Extrinsic motivations are those that arise from outside of the individual and often involve rewards such as trophies, money, social recognition, or praise. Intrinsic motivations are those that arise from within the individual, such as doing a complicated crossword puzzle purely for the personal gratification of solving a problem» ^[12].

A special and innovative tool is required for law students all across the world to be empowered and engaged when it comes to learning an English language. Creating proper language learning environment for law students is of major significance. For a learner a conception ‘you have to do’ needs to be replaced to ‘I want to do’ to make them obsessed with completing some exercises during a lesson.

It is a well-known fact that the best way to provide knowledge is with a joke although we do know learning is not about sitting there, having fun and making things easier. Transforming knowledge into creative and visually engaging challenges requires special skills. Thus, it is time for a term gamification to be introduced.

A technique allowing to better law students’ engagement is gamified learning process, also known as gamification or game-based learning. There are a lot of advantages to introducing knowledge to students through gamification. Numerous researches prove that game-based learning has a positive impact to students’ progress. Being a revolutionary new way to teach, game-based learning promotes conceptual understanding through direct interaction and immediate feedback. Our world has changed dramatically over the last hundred years. Just in the last ten years things really digitally changed. Some years ago gamification was a buzzword. Firstly, most people misunderstood its significance, and only very few people got engaged into it as games challenged them and made them use their creativity.

Gamification is frequently associated with Karl M. Kapp, a scholar and expert on the convergence of games, learning, and technology at Bloomsburg University, in Bloomsburg, PA. In his well-known book «The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education» Karl Kapp describes gamification in the following way «game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems» ^[7].

One of the praises for Karl M. Kapp’s «The Gamification of Learning and Instruction» is worth being mentioned. An experiential learning guru from Performance Development Group Rich Mesch stated «What Karl Kapp has done with this book is looked at games and learning from every possible angle....he provocatively asks questions that the learning community needs to answer, like 'Do our design processes still work?' and 'Are we really meeting the needs of today's learners?' This book may make you anxious, make you laugh, or make you angry. But one thing it will definitely do is make you think» ^[8].

Scholars G. Barata et. al. from Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa in their article «Engaging Engineering Students with Gamification. Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Application» highlight that «well-designed games are good motivators by nature, as they imbue players with clear goals and a sense of reward and fulfillment, thus encouraging them to persist and endure in their quests. Recently, this motivational power has started to be applied to non- game contexts, a practice known as Gamification. This adds gaming elements to non-game processes, motivating users to adopt new behaviors» ^[1].

According to Sebastian Deterding et al. from the University of York «Gamification is an umbrella term for the use of video game elements (rather than full-fledged games) to improve user experience and user engagement in non-game services and applications» ^[2]. Gamification is a familiar academic concept and it can be implied to a higher level of education. Millions of university students all across the world are getting engaged into the game environment which is becoming more and more mainstream and worldwide. Nowadays game-based learning is considered one of the most engaging ways to introduce effective education. There's a real spectrum of games and we can utilize that power very effectively as games offer an infinite amount of ways for learners to utilize their creativity, to try a different combination strategy.

Game-based language learning is one of the most needed 21st century educational technology and it is highly likely to shape the contemporary education. It is like a vehicle for taking law students to the top and offering them more and more chances for mastering learning skills again and again. Law students get addicted to English language games although they are not required to engage into which proves that game-based learning is an exceedingly mighty and strong thing.

Gamification can be powerful and it is sure to make our world a better and more engaging place. Law students are able to learn a lot from games as lots of teachers use rewards. But gamification does not start with rewards and points a learner gets, it starts with how it motivates students’ core drives. Proper gamification framework is a very engaging process and it ensures learner’s development and accomplishment. Being a much-needed craft, gamification implies taking exciting components of games and using them in non-game educational environment.

The challenging process of the English language learning can be introduced through game-based learning which has already been used in various educational directions. «In the field of language learning, the research of gamification is still in its infancy, with large gaps to be filled by future ventures» ^[9]. Competent English language instructors have already noticed that students sometimes cannot do without the English language speaking and writing skills when it comes to playing games, and, as a result, language learning becomes their top priority. Thus, it is vital to put the emphasis on the benefits of games to facilitate language learning which needs to be thoroughly explored.

Some language teachers have already employed gamification in their teaching process. No doubt, game-based learning is not supposed to be a center of the educational process as students’ mastery could be increased due to the teacher. Meanwhile, law students involved into English language games get motivated and they feel like they’re improving, leveling up, achieving mastery.

Dr. Jonathon Reinhardt from the University of Arizona and Dr. Julie Sykes from the University of Oregon are well aware of the fact that «games and play dynamics are being increasingly applied in social, professional, and educational domains. The globalization of the digital gaming industry, the diversification of games into new and culturally hybrid genres, a global increase in access to broadband, and increasing numbers of non-traditional game players have precipitated a notable expansion of digital game and play activity into new contexts and applications» ^[11].

The Center for Education Resources in Culture, Language, and Literacy (CERCLL) developed the Games2Teach: Developing Digital Game-Mediated Foreign Language Literacies website https://games2teach.uoregon.edu/ which is co-directed by Dr. J. Reinhardt and Dr. J. Sykes. This online tool aims at helping teachers and students who are fond of achieving the benefits that games provide for language learning. Clicking on Games2Teach site a user will find various fields to explore: numerous blog posts from a host of international collaborators; practical classroom activities, evaluations of games for use in language learning, and other insightful publications free of charge, scholarly journals, free downloadable games.

H. Douglas Brown is a founder of TaleCrafters website https://creativespeaking.wordpress.com/talecrafters/, a game which aims at mastering speaking activities. «In TaleCrafters, ESL students are presented with a game scene with a non-player character (NPC), who starts a conversation with them. Students in response record a 30-second role-play and send the recording to their teacher. These are recurring activities for which students gain skills or level up» ^[9].

There is a better way to engage with the students, to bring deeper context to students through games knowing that 97% of students play games every week for hours or more although they don't necessarily consider themselves gamers. Many teachers are well aware of it and consequently they are into game-based learning. Moreover, they heart games and consider that there is a basic underlying structural overlap between what you do during a game and what you are into during education. Many students go on playing challenging language learning games as they reward, encourage and accept students as they are without any remarks on their misbehavior and consequently learners interact and succeed.

All these factors prove that educational games need to be fitted into education. There are studies that examine learners’ motivation and engagement when gamification is utilized in a classroom. In most cases gamification equals fun and engaging thing but it is just not true. The beauty of game-based learning is not that it is easy and relaxing. It is that you get learners to complete game-oriented exercises themselves. As a result, the students do the challenging activities themselves and teachers do not have to sit and control them. Students are given an opportunity to take a more active role in the learning process. Game-based language learning engages and motivates law students like no other learning tool. It is necessary to highlight that most educational games are highly motivational and powerful techniques as they give a lot of chances to rewind. Students are able to work on the subject again and again to earn more scores because some game elements and game mechanics make students be more than who they are. As soon as the English language game is introduced to the students everybody masters the subject. The feedback rating the teachers get from learners is much higher as students are willingly doing their gamified homework.

It is unthinkable that teachers are able to apply the same methodology for years. Being committed to their profession, many teachers keep trying to develop an extraordinary perspective on educational system. Teachers spend most of their time trying to turn the English language learning experience for law students into a positive emotion and creating more and more effective and efficient tools to increase both knowledge and satisfaction level.

When it comes to gamifying English lessons teachers may also think over various rewards that law students can easily get for successful completion of activities. First students need to get familiar with all available rewards and the requirements they need to fulfill to be praised.

According to Dr. Ian Glover from Sheffield Hallam University «rewards need to be achievable and desirable in order to provide sufficient extrinsic motivation, but scarce enough that there is a sense of pride and accomplishment in receiving one» ^[4].

There are many fabulous English language learning games allowing lots of students to better their English speaking skills. Nowadays some game-oriented educators are constantly working hard towards mastering game-based language learning environment and creating new creative tools to bring them in.

Language –oriented games are not essential tools that are required to be applied on a regular basis. They might be provided to law students as many times as a teacher finds it necessary. It depends on numerous factors. These different types of both online and offline activities are to motivate and encourage law students. To succeed learners are to be permitted to have an option in choosing proper tasks that suit them individually. Being provided with various web links offering various challenging language games students are sure to improve their team building and teamwork abilities as they get to know each other’s preferences much better. Working together on certain gamified assignments, later they can illustrate pictures and videos of their common achievements.

Game-based language learning is already being used successfully and widely by some educational establishments. No doubt learners’ motivation towards their core disciplines as well as English language lessons is greatly influenced by the implementation of web links related to gamified tasks. Experienced and caring teachers are interested in their learners’ academic progress and they need to clarify to students during lessons why the language tasks integrated into the gamified process are essential to their both personal and career growth.

Properly-designed language learning games are perfect motivators because they inspire learners with precise goals and motivate them to persist in their educational drive making gamification a perfect motivational stimulus. Implementing gaming elements to English language learning environment allows students to better their psychological and learning behaviour.

The use of game-based language learning has resulted in bringing in various tools to master the educational process and motivate the students. Meanwhile, it is very essential to keep in mind that a game is required to take insignificant amount of time and it should not replace the target purpose of the lesson.

According to Jorge F. Figueroa-Flores from Texas Woman's University, there are lots of «gamification apps for enhancing and motivating second language learning. With many tools to choose from in educational technology, the L2 educator needs to use them accordingly to the target audience and combine it with the appropriate language learning approach or strategy. These Gamification tools are frequently used in L2 learning: Duolingo, Class Dojo, Edmodo, Zondle, Socrative, and Brainscape» ^[3].

John Kuefler from the Pittsburgh State University also supports an idea that gamification apps are highly likely to change the way educators in higher education are engaging with students. In his presentation «Engaging Mobile App Development in Higher ED» he analyzes why mobile apps are necessary for higher education. The answer is quite evident as «86% of students own smartphones; students spend an average of 3 hours per day on their smartphone; students receive about 65 notifications on their phone per day; 79% of universities have mobile apps» ^[6].

J. Kuefler shares his ideas about differences between games and gamification. As for games, they usually have narratives and intended for recreation. Moreover, they are voluntary, provide interaction, have goals and endings for the player. When it comes to analyzing gamification, it guides users through content; reinforce or alter behavior; it is often ongoing and aligns with the creators goals for their product or service.

In search of the updated information related to online education advancement many academicians as well as students are getting more and more interested in the emerging technology topics. The following web link https://library.educause.edu/resources/2014/1/2014-horizon-report will be of great use for them as it provides a great deal of information related to learning-oriented innovations devoted to the exploration and implementation of new media and new technologies. Thus, according to New Media Consortium Horizon Report on Technology and Higher Education in 2014, «more universities are working to make their institutions more comfortable with change, using agile approaches to be more responsive, nimble and flexible. The expert panel placed the ultimate peak of this trend’s impact out at least five years, but some universities are already putting policies into place that will make their institutions more agile. Institutional leaders are increasingly seeing their students as creators rather than consumers» ^[5].

English language learning can easily dispense with traditional methodology as it proves to be less efficient than it used to be. English language teachers are entrusted to educate students and broaden their cultural horizons. To achieve these goals teachers should allow learners to choose only the game-based educational techniques that are much more meaningful to them. It is vital not to focus on methods but focus on outcomes. Present young generation is mainly being brought up by the Internet stuff and their parents are mostly unable to change this. So, unlike teachers of yesteryear, present-day teachers are required to adapt to the constantly evolving educational environment and keep innovating and bringing in the tools to motivate and encourage digital-oriented students.